Summary

is one of many works executed by the London-based artist Leon Kossoff in response to Old Master paintings

from the National Gallery. In this case, Kossoff’s inspiration is Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows, 1831, by John Constable (1776–1837). P20320 is a unique proof impression that combines etching, softground etching and aquatint, and is printed in black ink on white wove paper.

In this landscape painting, Salisbury Cathedral is seen from the north west, in the distance across a wide bend the River Avon through which a horse-drawn cart is moving. The composition is balanced by an imposing tree on the riverbank to the left. Constable is concerned with capturing the transitional effects of the weather as a storm breaks over the Cathedral. A rainbow arches above the scene.

Tate’s collection includes nine of Kossoff’s prints derived from close study of Constable’s original: P11706–7, acquired by Tate in 1999, and P20310–3 and P20318–20, acquired in 2007. Each work is distinct from the other. As curator Colin Wiggins has explained: ‘Each of the many prints taken from the etched and drypointed plates made in front of Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows ... is packed with a different light and energy, enhancing our understanding of the original.’ (Wiggins, p.53.) Kossoff’s concern, it seems, is with structure, even though in P20320 the composition is loosely described. Working in monochrome, he dwells on the effects of light and emphasises the significance of the shape of the rainbow within the composition, making its arc more sweeping and forceful than the original.

For Kossoff, printmaking is another form of drawing. By studying images by older artists and interpreting them in new ways he bonds more closely with the works and gains a deeper insight into them. He has commented: ‘[M]y attitude to these works has always been to teach myself to draw from them, and, by repeated visits, to try to understand why certain pictures have a transforming effect on my mind.’ (Quoted in Morphet, p.225.)

This is one of thirty-four unique prints (P20296–P20329) given to Tate by the artist in 2007. Kossoff collaborated on the production of the prints with the artist Ann Dowker.